Schools

There's new hope for Benton Harbor schools. That's what the Superintendent told parents, teachers and students at a town hall meeting Tuesday night. Declining enrollment and state funding cuts forced Benton Harbor to close 3 schools last week. But administrators think the bleeding has stopped and the district has better days ahead. Boxes fill the classrooms at Sorter International School waiting to be moved to one of the four new magnet schools being created by the Benton Harbor School District.

If your kids go to public school in South Bend, today (Friday) is an important day. Their attendance plays a key role in deciding how much state funding the school corporation gets. The count is the average attendance from the start of the year until today to gauge how many students are enrolled this year. It's important because South Bend schools face dropping enrollment, which means less state funding. That can lead to cuts in jobs and school programs. Last year South Bend School lost 617 students and more than $1 million in state funding.

SOUTH BEND - South Bend Schools Superintendent Carole Schmidt says she just learned she never received the proper license to teach in Indiana. In a news release, she says thought the corporation's administrative staff had processed her application and she had received a reciprocal license. She says on Wednesday, she started the process to get that license as quickly as possible. Schmidt also says she notified the board of trustees about the issue.

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) - The days when Indiana's elementary school students were required to perfect the looping script of cursive handwriting are coming to an end. Starting this fall, the state Department of Education will no longer require Indiana's public schools to teach cursive writing. State officials sent school leaders a memo April 25 telling them that instead of cursive writing, students will be expected to become proficient in keyboard use. The Times of Munster reports the memo says schools may continue to teach cursive as a local standard, or they may decide to stop teaching cursive altogether.

There are more than 27 kids in some elementary school classes at Middlebury, and that number could go up. School officials there argue the state is not funding students fairly, and it is forcing schools to make tough decisions. "We would like the state to go back and look at what the constitution says and there needs to be a fair equitable funding of students," says Middlebury Superintendent Jim Conner. Middlebury School Corporation is one of three school districts which filed a lawsuit against the state.

Benton Harbor schools are getting a multi-million dollar grant to help students. The school district will get around$675,000 a year for five years. This money is coming from the Michigan Department of Education. It will be used for after school programs and summer academic and enrichment activities at four magnet schools and for some high school students. The Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor will partner with the schools.

BENTON HARBOR - Top Michigan education officials reportedly appear optimistic Benton Harbor schools will be able to lower their budget deficit by the end of the school year. State Schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan and some officials with the state's Department of Education have released an updated report of nearly 100 school districts that will either clear, lower or raise their deficits by the end of the fiscal year in June. That's according to online news site, Mlive.com . Benton Harbor Area schools were projected to end the fiscal year with a reduced deficit.

Indiana's next governor spent part of his morning in South Bend. Exactly one month ago today voters elected Congressman Mike Pence. Pence is a social conservative, butut says he is very focused on the economy. The state legislature is talking about putting a ban a same sex marriage in the state constitution, defining marriage between a man and a woman. If passed, it could then go to voters to decide through a statewide referendum in 2014. This is what Pence told WSBT this morning when asked if he would support banning same sex marriage in the state: I respect the role of people elected to serve in the General Assembly, and I will consider issues that they raise, as they come up.  But our focus is going to be in jobs and schools.

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY - It's sweeping through local daycares and schools. But the St. Joe County Health Department says there are things you can do to help keep your kids healthy from an outbreak of Shigella. Shigella is basically a nasty stomach bug. Clay Intermediate, Harrison Primary, Jackson Intermediate, Lincoln Primary, Tarkington Traditional and Wilson Primary schools all have confirmed cases of Shigella, and if your kids go there, you should already have a letter from the school explaining exactly what it is and how to keep it from spreading.

Schools in the South Bend, Mishawaka and Penn-Harris-Madison districts will be closed tomorrow because of the blizzard conditions in the area, according to WSBT’s electronic school closings listing. The system, which reports closings and delays for schools, businesses and organizations, has more than 400 entries registered. To access the system, click : http://www.wsbt.com/weather/closings/

ELKHART - The Elkhart schools are teaming up with two area colleges to provide summer school classes. With less state funding, the district needs help to provide those classes. In this case, students and teachers will benefit. It's the first of its kind in northern Indiana - a partnership between the Elkhart schools IUSB and Saint Mary's College. Both colleges are overseeing summer laboratory schools, providing college students or graduates  a chance to teach six-week-long summer school classes.

SOUTH BEND-- Hunger doesn't stop when school is over which is why the South Bend Community School Corporation has the summer food service program.    Wednesday was the first day kids could get a free, nutritious meal through the federally-funded initiative. A facilitator with the program says 70% of students in the South Bend schools get free or reduced lunches during the school year, so they want to make sure kids have at least one good meal each weekday during the summer.

Today is the last day in class for kids at Dowagiac schools. They were just let out for the day, meaning summer vacation is underway. Even though they missed class Monday because of a deadly shooting that closed schools, the state granted a waiver so that date doesn't have to be made up. Police say 13-year-old Darren Price shot and killed himself in a wooded area across from the middle school on Riverside Drive early Monday morning....

LAPORTE, Ind. (AP) - A prosecutor is asking that a special prosecutor be named to handle the case of two LaPorte school officials accused of failing to report suspected sexual misconduct by a former assistant girls volleyball coach. The LaPorte County Herald-Argus reports ( http://bit.ly/15E4LRq ) Prosecutor Bob Szilagyi filed the motion Tuesday. Attorneys for Ed Gilliland and Marybeth Lebo filed a similar motion earlier. Gilliland is the LaPorte High School athletic director and Lebo is the former girls varsity volleyball coach.

All Dowagiac Union Schools in Cass County are closed today after a former student tried to kill himself in the woods near the middle school, police said at a news conference this morning. The middle school and high school were put on lock-down procedures at 6:40. That's when a custodian saw the 14-year-old -- a student at the school last year -- outside of the school acting strangely, according to police. He thought he saw a gun on the teen and called police. The principal tried to talk to the former student, but the 14-year-old ran into a wooded area near the school.

All Dowagiac Union Schools in Cass County are closed today after a former student shot himself in the woods near the middle school. In a 11:30 news conference police said that teen -- now identified as 13-year-old Darren James Price -- died in the hospital. They say while this is tragic, it could have been worse, as they believe Price may have been planning a school shooting. The middle school and high school were put on lock-down procedures at 6:40, before students arrived.

Police say they may never know why a 13-year old former Dowagiac Middle School student staked out the school carrying a handgun and then killed himself.   Police say Darren Price, who would have turned 14- in a few weeks, shot himself in the woods across the street from the school located on Riverside Road. Price attended the middle school in 6th grade, but according to school officials was homeschooled, along with two other siblings, this year.   All 6 area schools were placed on lockdown   Monday   morning and Superintendent Mark Daniel cancelled classes for the day.   News of a student shooting spread quickly through the small town, alarming parents.

NAPPANEE -- A teenager is in critical condition this morning after a bizarre accident in Elkhart County. It happened around 9 Thursday night in the parking lot of NorthWood High School in Nappanee. Poice say 18-year-old Tori Graff was standing on the bumper of a moving pickup truck when she fell and hit her head on the pavement. She was taken by helicopter to Memorial Hospital in South Bend with head injuries.

LAPORTE - Schools are expected to get their ISTEP results sometime in July, much later than normal because of computer problems. But there is some good news. The Indiana superintendent of public instruction, Glenda Ritz, says the delay in scores will not affect summer school. However, administrators are still concerned. Ritz was all smiles as she toured Crichfield Elementary School in LaPorte, but there's not much to smile about when it comes to ISTEP, a test given to kids in grades 3 thru 8. This school year, there were problems during testing, and now the results are coming back late.

DUNLAP - The Concord Community Schools in Elkhart County is joining a growing list of districts across Indiana facing a transportation budget shortfall, and it's because of declining property tax revenues. That means Concord will have to make some cuts. Concord officials found they will have a half-million dollars less to work with for its transportation needs for the 2013-14 school year. A study committee made up of educators, coaches and administrators looked at several ways to overcome the shortfall by scaling back bus transportation.